(1733 - 1812)
Richard Kirwan, famed for being a scientist and eccentric, was born the second son of four, in 1733, in Cloghballymore, Co. Galway . His family lived in the historic Cregg Castle which was built by their ancestors, originally for defence.
Cregg
Castle, Galway.
Kirwan had an enormous affinity for
books, and was constantly found reading, whether in his bedroom
or up a tree. His father Martin Kirwan died when he was just eight
years old. As a result, he developed a particularly close
relationship with his mother. When he was young, he was sent to live with his
Grandfather Patrick French, where he was tutored by a Dominican
Friar, Nicholas Nelly. When his grandfather died, Richard was
sent to Erasmus Smith school in Galway, with his younger
brothers. Catholics at this time, were, virtually excluded from
British Universities, and in 1745 Richard's elder brother had
been sent to Poitiers, France to complete his education; five
years later Kirwan was sent to join him. While in France, Kirwan began to
develop an interest in
chemistry
. However, he had a great reluctance to
learn french. One of his tutors on discovering that he spent the
majority of his leisure time reading chemistry books, removed
them, and replaced them with chemical works in french. As a
result, Kirwan's french improved dramatically. In 1754, he left Poitiers,
and joined a
Jesuit
order. However, he abandoned his studies for the
priesthood in 1755 and returned to Ireland. He was called to the
Irish bar in 1766 but gave up law just two years later, when his
brother was killed in a duel. he returned home to take on
the family estate. There he continued developing his love of
science, through the many books on Chemistry in the vast library
at his home. In 1757, in a step towards respectability,
he married Anne, daughter of Sir Thomas Blake of Menlo, Co.Galway. She died eight years later, leaving him two daughters.
Part of his attraction to Anne was a considerable dowry of
£4,000. However, he did not know that Anne had run up
pre-nuptial debts that vast exceeded this sum. No sooner were
they married but he was dragged away to jail, as he was now
legally responsible for his wife's affairs, where he remained
until the debts were paid. Kirwan spent 10 years in London from 1777 to
1787, where he soon established a reputation as a scientist. He
was known as a laborious experimenter, and a strenuous supporter
to the last of the Phlogiston Theory
. He returned to Ireland in 1787
and his "Essay on Phlogiston", Kirwan's best-known
work, was published that year. He devoted much time and attention to the
advancement of the study of
meteorology
, and constructed a table
showing the temperature of every latitude between the Equator and
the Poles. His "Elements of Mineralogy" was the first
systematic work on the subject in English, and was translated
into french also. He also published "Thoughts on
Magnetism" and his views in relation to the
Aurora Borealis
.
Aurora Borealis
Throughout his life he contributed to
chemistry
geology
, meteorology and
mineralogy
to which he is
given the merit of first introducing the study into Ireland. He
carried out experiments on the properties of carbon in mineral
coal and wrote essays on the analysis of soils and the nature of
manures. He became President of the
Royal Irish Academy
,
in 1799, a post he held until his death. In 1801, he was
elected President of the Dublin Library Society. Some evidence suggests that Kirwan was a member
of the United Irishmen in the 1790s, though this is not certain.
What is certain however, is that he befriended some of the
leading figures in the movement. One of these people was
Archibald Hamilton Rowan,
William Rowan Hamilton
's father,
who was imprisoned in 1794, but escaped to France. Kirwan suffered from a condition
called
dysphagia
, which meant he could not eat comfortably, as
swallowing induced convulsive movements. As a result his diet was
simple, consisting mainly of milk and ham. Due to the facial
contortions which accompanied the swallowing of food, he always
dined alone, whether in his own home or visiting friends. Kirwan's day was one of strict routine; he woke
very early and retired early. He had strict rules which his
visitors were obliged to follow. He had on particular evenings,
a certain time allotted when guests could call, after which time the
door knocker was removed and no-one else was admitted. As he grew older he became more and more
eccentric, developing some strange habits. He took to patroling
the grounds of his estate with his large dogs,
Irish wolfhounds
,
and greyhounds. He had a liking for large dogs since the time he
had been rescued from an attack of six mad boars, by an irish
wolfhound. Also, on these walks, one could often see an eagle
perched on his shoulder. He had created a fierce devotion in this
creature for himself, and was devastated when someone shot it as
it swooped down onto Kirwan's shoulder, thinking it was going to
attack him. Richard Kirwan was also greatly concerned with
catching a cold. It was this concern that finally killed him. He
always felt the cold, and thus developed a ritual before leaving
the house. This consisted of wrapping himself up in a huge cloak
and hat and several wooly scarves. Then just before going outside
he would stand in front of the fire fanning himself, in an effort
to retain heat. Once outside, he would trot along the street;
anyone wishing to speak with him, was obliged to run along beside
him. Kirwan also had an interest in law, music and
theology. He was born a catholic, later became a member of the
Church of England and died a Ulitarian. He died in 1812 at the age of 79. In a speech
to the Royal Irish Academy, Dr. Wm. Pickells had this to say
about Richard Kirwan "The gratitude of mankind will attest
his services; and history; in tracing the progress of those
sciences which he cultivated, and to the prosecution of which by
others he gave so powerful an impulse, will perpetuate to late
posterity the honours of his name". Achievements:
United Irishmen:
Health:
Later life: